USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > A standard history of Kosciusko County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development. A chronicle of the people with family lineage and memoirs, Volume II > Part 27
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Horace Tucker was the type of pioneer who was not merely a good manager but was willing to get into the heaviest and most ardu- ons toil himself. Thus many acres of heavy forest which originally covered his land was cleared away by the steady blows of his axe. He was not less efficient in the skill and judgment he showed in manag- ing the men who worked for him. The first spring he was in Kosci- usko County he planted six acres of corn among the stumps, breaking the land with a yoke of runaway oxen that he had secured in the woods and which belonged to some distant neighbor. He yoked them up when they came to his barn for something to eat. In 1871 Horace Tucker began erecting a substantial brick house, which is still a land- mark in that vicinity. It was the first house of that construction in the township and the first to be supplied with steam heat. Exclusive of his own work he invested $4,000 in the house. He also put up the first windmill pump in the township. In 1874 he built a large and substantial barn. Much of his money was made in handling and marketing cattle. He was in that business for about half a century. He was the first man to ship a carload of livestock to Warsaw in 1856.
While it. was not possible for him to make his money as easily as many men of the present generation, he was not lacking in great liberality in its use, and contributed liberally of his means to churches and to every worthy undertaking. He began voting as a whig and subsequently was an equally stanch republican. He served as treas- urer and trustee of his township, and was always an influence in county politics. Besides his farm he accumulated extensive tracts of land in Kosciusko and other counties, and always used livestock as a means of making his land profitable. In 1900 he sold from his farms, $8,000 worth of fat graded cattle, that being one of the largest single stock sales ever recorded in this county.
Horace Tucker and wife began their housekeeping with utmost simplicity. Their first table consisted of an ordinary store box and their first bed was made of poles stuck in auger holes in the wall, these holes being covered with clapboards instead of slats, and the bed put on top. During his last years and after the death of his wife Horace Tucker received most devoted attention and care from his grandson, Ivan Tucker. As a result of an accident he spent his last six months in bed. He died September 12, 1907, and his wife Novem
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ber 11, 1904. He died beloved of all who knew him, and the memory of many of his kind deeds are still preserved.
ARTHUR SMITH has his home in Silver Lake in Lake township, but for a long period of years his activities as a farmer and thresherman have made him known over the area of several townships of this county.
He represents one of the old families here. His father, Mark Smith, came from Ohio to Kosciusko County in 1843. He drove across the country with him a hundred head of sheep, and was a pioneer in sheep husbandry in this county. The maiden name of his wife was Nancy Garvin. Mark Smith was born near Akron, Ohio, June 27, 1826, and his wife was born in Indiana in December, 1831. She died June 12, 1864, while he lived to very advanced years, passing away April 12, 1904. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church, being charter members of the church in Seward Township, and the first services of that denomination were held in their own home. Their affiliation was with Franklin Baptist Church. Mark Smith was an active republican and for one term served as trustee of Seward Town- ship. He and his wife had five children, the three now living being S. E. Smith, of Paris, Texas, Arthur, and Jonathan G., of Seward Township. The son Lucius died at the age of twelve years and Ida when only nine months old.
Arthur Smith was born on his father's farm in Seward Township December 18, 1857. He grew up there, having the advantages of the common schools, and from the age of twenty until he was twenty-eight assumed a large part of responsibility in the management of the home farm. On March 21, 1886, Mr. Smith married Samantha J. Herald. She was born in Seward Township December 17, 1861, and was edu- cated in the common schools. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children : Worden R. is a graduate of the common schools, is a farmer in Seward Township, and married Bessie Drudger. Cleo A. is the wife of Eugene Way, of Seward Township.
Mr. Smith still owns eighty acres of good farming land, and for many years has operated a threshing outfit, supplying that indispens- able service to a large circle of farmers in this county. Mr. Smith is president of the Seward Horse Thief Detective Association. He has been precinct chairman of the republican party for a number of years, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees.
JACOB SPARKS, a resident of Kosciusko County most of his active life, has given a good account of his years in his chosen occupation as a farmer. His farm and home are well known in the southeast corner of the township, being located in section 34 of Jackson Township, a mile east and half a mile south of Sidney.
Mr. Sparks was born in Rock Creek Township of Wells County, Indiana, February 8, 1864. The record of his family in Indiana goes back several generations. His great-grandparents, Solomon and Char- ity Sparks, came from Virginia and after a time spent in Muncie, Indiana, moved to Wells County, locating in Rock Creek Township,
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three miles south of Markle. Solomon Sparks entered a hundred sixty acres of government land there, and on it spent the rest of his days. His children were Isaac, Jackson, David, Solomon, William, John, Rachel, Charity and one other daughter. William Sparks, grandfather of Jacob, married Hettie Miller, and among their children were Moses, Henry, James, K. P., John and Rachel. Jacob Sparks is a son of Moses and Hannah A. (Bane) Sparks. Moses Sparks had three other children : John F. of Huntington, Indiana; Isaac, who also lives in Huntington ; Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Cordle; while another daughter, Sarah M., is now deceased.
Jacob Sparks grew up in his native township of Wells County, but at the age of twelve his parents moved to Huntington County, and about 1884 he came to this county. For over thirty years he has lived in Jackson Township. Mr. Sparks married Jennetta Ross. They had one daughter, Ruth, and both mother and daughter died in 1900. On July 13, 1901, Mr. Sparks married Cora E. Smith, widow of William C. Smith. They have two sturdy young sons, William H. and Adam L.
Mr. Sparks is a democrat in political affiliations. The farm which is the center of his enterprise and through which he has provided well for his family and made himself a contributing factor in Kosciusko County agriculture, comprises about a hundred forty-three and a half acres in section 34 of Jackson Township. In livestock he specializes in Duroc hogs, Shorthorn cattle and also the Polled Durhams.
EDMUND S. LASH. Some of the finest farms and the best farmers reside in the community around Etna Green. One of these is Edmund S. Lash, who is a native son of Kosciusko County, and has not only prospered and done well in his business vocation, but has identified himself in a useful way with county affairs, has filled several of the important offices, and always exerts his influence in behalf of com- munity betterment.
His birth occurred in Harrison Township August 26, 1862. His parents were Philip and Sarah (Kehler) Lash, both natives of Ohio, his mother born near Wooster. The paternal grandfather, John Lash, was also a native of Ohio, and was one of the very early settlers of Kosciusko County, where he became a large land owner and took much part in early affairs. The maternal grandfather was John Kehler, who also came early to Kosciusko County, and was a mill- wright by trade, and most of his sons grew up to mechanical profes- sions. Philip Lash was born in 1826 and died in 1863. His wife was born in 1824 and died in 1892. They both came as children to Indiana and were married in this state. Of their five children four are living. Mrs. Cora Harris, a widow; Jennie, wife of Mr. Wolper, who is in the real estate business at Dayton, Ohio; Mrs. Tillie Blue, whose husband is a retired farmer at Mentone; and Edmund S. The parents of these children were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church and the father was a republican. Philip Lash grew up in Kosciusko County when it was comparatively a wilderness. As a boy he frequently saw
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Indians, and the school he attended had among its pupils several Indian children.
Edmund S. Lash began his serious career with a valuable equip- ment of knowledge and practical experience. After attending the com- mon schools he spent two terms in the Methodist college at Fort Wayne. He has a grateful memory of the two years he himself spent as a teacher. From teaching he gravitated into farming and that has been his steady vocation now for fully thirty years. His success is of his own making and the property he owns is an adequate testimonial to his enterprise and industry. His farm comprises 180 acres, and its buildings and various improvements are the direct result of his work and supervision. He raises corn, hay and wheat, and has some good grades of cattle and hogs.
On August 26, 1884, Mr. Lash married Miss Emma Eckert. She was born in Ohio, daughter of Sullivan and Rachel Eckert, who were Ohio people and early settlers in Hancock County of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Lash have four children : May Wilson is the wife of a teacher at Mentone ; Mrs. Madge Jackson lives in Elkhart, where Mr. Jackson is a train inspector for the Lake Shore Road; Raymond is a teacher and farmer in Kosciusko County, and Gladys, the youngest, is still at home.
Mr. Lash has always been interested in public affairs and by the choice of his fellow citizens served two terms very capably in the office of county commissioner. He is a republican, he and his wife are mem- bers of the United Brethren church, and fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and has held several of the official chairs in these fraternal bodies.
JEROME H. LONES. It is truly the individual and exceptional case when a man can point to nearly a third of a century of continuous serv- ice for one organization or in one position, That was one of the dis- tinetions of Mr. Lones' citizenship in Warsaw, where from August 30, 1883, until his death he was local agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. To a great many people in Warsaw Mr. Lones during that time was the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, having served as its representative so long that to think of the Pennsylvania Company was also to think of its genial and energetic agent. Furthermore, Mr. Lones was very closely and actively identified with the material progress and development of the city, and was one of the most highly esteemed as he was one of the best known men of Warsaw.
The lesson of his career should not be lost as an example to young men who have to take up the responsibilities of life with little train- ing and with no influence to advance them. He was born on a farm in Crawford County, Ohio, August 20, 1853, the eldest of the three children of Harrison and Celia (Benson) Lones. When he was eight- een months of age his parents moved out of Iowa by way of Cincinnati and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, but owing to the continued ill health of his mother they remained only a short time and returned to Ohio, taking up residence in Wyandotte County. There the father died
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in 1859, and for a number of years thereafter the members of the lit- tle household suffered many hardships and privations. In the mean- time Jerome H. Lones managed to attend the local public schools and gained the rudiments of an education. At the age of sixteen he left home, and spent several months as a corn husker near Watseka, Illinois, hut in the ensuing spring returned home and looked after the opera- tion of the old homestead during the next season. However, he could not content himself with the narrow horizon of an Ohio farm, and it was through a better education that he could see the vista of greater opportunities opening before him. By economy and hard work he managed to pay his way for three years in the Northern Ohio College at Ada, where he showed special proficiency and gained honors in mathematics. While in college his mother died, and not long after- wards he had to determine his future location. There were two forces that appealed to him, either to gain a place as a bank cashier with its consequent possibilities, or to engage in railroad service. Before he could make a beginning in either career he needed business training, and consequently taught school and with the earnings of that work and with some money which he borrowed paid his way through the long course at the Iron City Business College at Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania. Then during another season at home, when he dug ditches and husked corn, he was finally able to attempt the realization of his dreams. He went to Fort Wayne, made application for employment with the Pennsylvania Company, but he was promptly refused owing to his lack of knowledge of telegraphy. Undoubtedly one of the quali- ties which enabled him to succeed was a persistency in the face of dis- couragement. Turned back at one point, he applied for another line of work, and finally went on the road as a freight brakeman. After thirteen months he was given employment in the freight office as a clerk, and was promoted to assistant cashier. Then, having demon- strated his capabilities and his reliability, he came to Warsaw in 1883 as station agent. This position he ever afterward held, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his company, and while nominally his du- ties were the same, the responsibilities grew with the growth and de- velopment of the city and its importance as a traffic center.
Unlike many men in the railroad service who are content to isolate themselves from the community which they serve and hecome merely a cog in the routine of the corporation which employs them, Mr. Lones from the first identified himself with local citizenship. For years he contributed from his means and his experience to the aid of all worthy enterprises undertaken in Warsaw. He was one of the organizers of the modern Commercial Club. He also helped in the organization and was one of the principal stockholders and vice president of the Indi- ana Loan and Trust Company. In politics he was always identified with the republican party. Fraternally he was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a Knight Templar, and also a member of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. For his helpmate through life he was fortunate in the selection of Miss Jennie Logan, of Fort Wayne, whom he married in 1878.
Mr. Lones continued in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad
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Company until the date of his death, which occurred very suddenly, after less than a week's sickness, on September 7, 1917. His memory is respected and his death was mourned by the entire community.
He was laid away by the Knight Templars and his funeral was largely attended by the citizens of Warsaw and representatives of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company from all stations on the western divi- sion.
CHARLIE A. HIGHS. One of the oldest families of Kosciusko County is that of Hughs, which located here over eighty years ago. The Hughs family came to Indiana when it was a territory, more than a century ago.
A splendid farm in Prairie Township, long owned by this family, is now under the capable management and supervision of Charlie A. Hughs, who is not only a general farmer but a breeder and shipper of livestock, and as such is well known all over this part of the state. He was born on the farm where he now lives September 10, 1879, son of John W. and Prudence (Wallace) Hughs. John W. Hughs was born in Prairie Township January 11, 1851, a son of the original settler here. Prudence Wallace was born in Kosciusko County July 6, 1854. The parents since their marriage have lived on the old homestead in Prai- rie Township. John W. Hughs is a republican voter. Of their two children one died at the age of three years.
Charlie A. Hughs has always lived at home, and was well educated in the common schools and a business college at Warsaw. That he has more than ordinary responsibilities is manifest in the fact that he supervises the farming of 287 acres and looks after a large number of livestock. He personally owns 461/2 acres.
July 11, 1907, Mr. Hughs married Edith Kimes, a native of Plain Township of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hughs attend the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a republican and is affiliated with St. Leon Lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
JAMES WHITNEY PARKER has lived in Kosciusko County most of his life, and out of his experiences as a worker and farmer has accumu- lated one of the most effective farm estates in Tippecanoe Township, his postoffice being North Webster. His farm is three miles southeast of that village.
Mr. Parker was born near Lima in Allen County, Ohio, December 12, 1855. His parents were J. W. and Elizabeth (Lippencott) Parker. The grandfather, Sylvester Parker, was a native of England, and at the age of twenty-one he and his brother Herman Parker came to the United States and settled in Seneca County, New York. They married sisters, Sylvester marrying Elizabeth Harper, who was also a native of England. They became the parents of seven children, J. W., Elias, Martin, Silas, Jason, Cerenus and Martha.
J. W. Parker was born in Seneca County, New York, November 22, 1822. When a young man he went to Allen County, Ohio, married there, and in 1863 brought his family to Kosciusko County. He mar- ried Elizabeth Lippencott, daughter of Joseph and Eliza J. (Bland)
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Lippencott. Eliza J. Bland was a native of Virginia and daughter of a slave owner. Joseph Lippencott and wife moved to Allen County, Ohio, where they lived until his death and his widow spent her last years in Kosciusko County. J. W. Parker and wife had twelve children including: Sylvenus, deceased; Joseph, who was in the West; Hayman, of LaGrange County, Indiana; James W .; Mary, wife of Henry Lentz; Sabrina, Anna and Emma, all deceased and Albert of Starke County, Indiana.
James Whitney Parker was eight years old when his parents came to Kosciusko County, and here he grew up, attending the district schools in winter and working on the farm in summer. On March 22, 1885, he married Miss Ada A. Dorsey. Mrs. Parker was born in Darke County, Ohio. November 22. 1863, daughter of William and Martha J. (Coppeias) Dorsey. Her father was a native of Maryland and her mother of Ohio. Mrs. Parker was two years old when her parents came to Kosciusko County, where she grew up and received a district school education. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have four children : Lulu M., born in March, 1886, is the wife of Vern Gross. of Turkey Creek Township ; Roy is married and lives in Tippecanoe Township; Ray is a graduate of the common schools and is now a wireless operator in the United States Navy ; Edna M. is the wife of Robert Twants.
Mr. Parker is a republican voter. As a farmer he gives active su- perintendence to the management of his seventy-six acres and is one of the large producers of agricultural crops in this county. He is also one of the Kosciusko County citizens who have made a profitable busi- ness out of commercial poultry growing. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are clever and obliging people and stand high socially in their community.
C. F. STARNER. In these critical modern times it is results that count, and the principal contributory factor toward getting results is intelligently directed work. Kosciusko County ranks high among Indiana's counties as an agricultural center, and one of the men who has long carried a goodly share of responsibilities in this field is Mr. C. F. Starner, one of the progressive and up-to-date farmers of Plain Township. His farm is a mile northeast of Leesburg.
Mr. Starner was born in Plain Township July 25, 1875, son of George and Elizabeth (Fisher) Starner. His parents are still resi- dents of the county and represent old time families here.
Mr. C. F. Starner was reared on a farm, had a district school edu- cation, and at the age of seventeen left the parental roof to find work on his own responsibility. He worked at any employment that offered an opportunity to earn an honest living, and for some four or five years was connected with a threshing outfit. Later he bought his first land and has thriftily improved his place until he now has a well ar- ranged farm of 145 acres. Mr. Starner married Miss Viola Noel. They have a family of seven daughters: Lucy, a graduate of high school ; Cecil, who is a student in high school ; and Rilla, Hazel, Pauline, Mary and Florence. Mr. Starner is a democrat in politics.
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MANFORD MORRIS. While his efforts for a number of years have been concentrated upon the management of his farm and stock, ranch in Turkey Creek Township, Manford Morris is a man of varied inter- ests, is a stockholder in several banks and other concerns, and belongs to one of the pioneer families of Indiana.
He was born in Noble County of this state February 12, 1871, a son of Andrew J. and Lavina (Morrow) Morris. His father was born in Preble County, Ohio, November 6, 1828, and is still living at the vener- able age of ninety. The grandfather, Biven Morris, was a pioneer of Kosciusko County. He moved his family from Preble to Darke County, Ohio, in 1834, and in 1838 came into the wilderness of Kosciusko County and located in Turkey Creek Township. Biven Morris had the distinction of being the first trustee chosen to office in that township. He entered a hundred acres of government land in section 2, and lived there until 1880. Biven Morris and wife had the following children : Lucinda, Andrew J., Isaac, John, Tolman, Barbara and Nancy.
Andrew J. Morris grew to maturity in Kosciusko County and later went out to Iowa where he married March 20, 1858. He brought his wife back to Indiana and settled on a farm in Noble County, one mile east from the homestead, where they lived together fifty-nine years. January 20, 1917, Lavina, his wife, died at the age of eighty years. She was a pioneer of Noble County, born near Ligonier December 22, 1836. She moved with her parents to Iowa in 1852, living there six years. Mr. Morris served as county commissioner of Noble County from 1900 to 1904. He and his wife had four children : J. C. Morris, a farmer in Noble County ; Mary J., wife of J. F. Eagles of Noble County ; Sherman, also a Noble County farmer ; and Manford.
Manford Morris grew up on his father's farm in Noble County and was educated in the district schools. He lived at home for a number of years and on September 28, 1905, married Vada F. Sloan, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah S. Sloan. She moved with her parents to Kos- cinsko County in 1875. They have two children: Arthur J., born January 6, 1909; and Marjorie Frances, who was born December 15, 1913, died August 10, 1917.
Mr. Morris' farm comprises 148 acres. It is a highly cultivated place and is especially well known as the home of some high grade Poland China hogs and Shorthorn cattle, in the breeding of which he has been very successful. Mr. Morris is a stockholder in the Sparta State Bank at Cromwell, Indiana, and is also a stockholder in a busi- ness at Lebanon and is a member of the Farmers' Shipping Associa- tion. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Cromwell and was a charter member of Cromwell Lodge No. 408. Knights of Pythias, and served as chancellor and a member of the Grand Lodge. Politically he is a republican and was formerly a mem- ber of the Township Advisory Board.
JOHN JONES. It has been observed that the happiest nations are those without history, and it is true of individuals as well. Some of those who are most useful to themselves and their fellow men, living their lives most simply and with utmost faithfulness to their
MR. AND MRS. JOHN JONES AND FAMILY
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duties and responsibilities, figure in few of the conspicuous and ab- normal events which are so often celebrated in the newspaper col- umns.
This was all true of the late John Jones, one of the kindliest and best citizens of Seward Township. John Jones died at his home in that township February 26, 1918, aged eighty-one years, eleven months and twenty days. His farm, two miles southwest of Burket, had been his home continuously for over half a century, his work and sacrifice counted most in its improvement, and there he reared his children, and with obligations all fulfilled he bore his last long illness with Christian fortitude until the end.
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